uber

After getting a cease-and-desist order, private livery service Uber has gotten the green light to resume operations in Boston.

The Division of Standards of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts earlier this month ordered the service, which allows people to request private car service via their smartphones, to cease operations because the National Institute of Standards and Technology had not issued guidelines for use of GPS location technology in commercial transportation.

Uber uses GPS technology rather than traditional odometers to measure distance traveled, which then determines the passenger's fare. That, apparently, is what the state Standards Division objected to.

"The … Read more

It looks like Uber is being driven out of another city.

Uber, the quickly growing startup that lets people request private car service via their smartphones, has received a cease-and-desist letter from the Division of Standards of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, ordering it to stop operating in Boston.

The letter (see below) states that until the National Institute of Standards and Technology issues guidelines for use of GPS location technology in commercial transportation, Uber can't allow the public to use its app.

"GPS has not been used in commercial applications for assessing transportation charges until Uber Technologies, Inc. … Read more

Friday's top tech stories teach us that Web giants may die, but ice cream is forever:

What's left of the social news aggregator Digg has been purchased by Betaworks, a company that runs Bit.ly and several other Web businesses. Digg will be folded into News.me, a daily news app and e-mail digest. Digg has been struggling and was slowly disassembled. A subsidiary of Washington Post bought some of the Digg talent, LinkedIn grabbed some patents, and on Thursday, Betaworks acquired what was left. The Wall Street Journal has sources saying Betaworks acquired Digg for around $500,… Read more

San Francisco-based startup Uber, developer of the Summon-a-Car application, is temporarily giving users the ability to call an ice-cream truck through their app.

The company's app, available on Android or iPhone, can be used to request and book private vehicles in a number of U.S. cities. Today, however, users in seven cities can also use the app to request the presence of an ice-cream truck.

San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Washington and Toronto have on-call ice cream today, according to Uber's blog. The trucks will be available from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. … Read more

San Francisco-based startup Uber, developer of the Summon-a-Car application, has won a battle over draft legislation proposed by Washington D.C. that could have forced it to dramatically increase its fares.

Uber's Summon-a-Car app, available on Android or iPhone, allows users to request private car services in a number of US cities.

The D.C. Taxicab Commission had deemed the mobile service Uber provides as "illegal" and was considering a legislative amendment that would require sedan car services like Uber's to charge a minimum rate five times that of a standard taxi.

The aim of raising … Read more

In a brewing D.C. cab war, Internet-based Uber feels the city is trying to drive it out of town.

Uber, a quickly-growing startup that lets people request private car service in select cities via their smartphones, is once again battling the D.C. Taxicab Commission, which is reportedly considering legislation that would require sedan car services like Uber to charge at least five times the minimum fare charged by cabs, according to a copy of the amendment Uber posted.

"Sedans would be required to charge a minimum fare of five times the drop rate for taxicabs.[And] sedans … Read more

Uber, a company that lets people request private car service in select cities, is trying to appeal to a less-affluent customers by using non-luxury, hybrid vehicles, according to a new report.

According to Uber, which spoke with The New York Times in a story published yesterday, the hybrid service will kick off in San Francisco and New York on Wednesday. The cars will cost customers 10 percent to 25 percent more than a standard taxi fare between two locations. According to the Times, its premium service typically costs customers between 40 percent and 100 percent more.

Uber is one of … Read more

A company called Karma has developed what it's called the "social telecom." The only issue is, its big unveiling took a hit recently after Karma mentioned two companies it has worked with but hasn't actually signed on.

At TechStars yesterday, Karma took the stage to show off its 4G hot spot. The small box, which costs $69 and runs on Clearwire's network, offers users pay-as-you-go WiMax 4G service in 80 cities across the United States. For each 1GB of data used, Karma charges $14. In addition, the hot spot is made to be open, so … Read more

There don't seem to be too many enjoyable aspects of being president.

However, it must be nice to know you'll always get to the airport on time because you have a Chevy Suburban back and front, ready to clear traffic for your Town Car to glide through.

How lovely, then, that Uber--the nice Germanic-sounding people whom you can just text to get a ride--decided to give a few lucky customers a motorcade to celebrate President's Day today.

All those lucky customers were in Washington, D.C., so its residents must have thought the president was unusually … Read more